10 Pilot Showcase 2022: reviews

Six new TV pilots are available at 10 Play from today.

Are they any good?

Title: Courtney’s Closet
The Pitch: Hosted by the indomitable Courtney Act, Courtney’s Closet is a celebrity interview show with a twist. Each episode will see Courtney transform her guest into a drag persona befitting of their personal journey, while teasing out their life story in an intimate interview, culminating in a stunning reveal.
Review: In this half hour episode Courtney meets comedian Luke McGregor, an unlikely candidate for getting a drag makeover. The Rosehaven star talks about finding comedy, making the frank series Luke Warm Sex, his relationship with Celia Pacquola, and his love of superheroes. Throughout the conversation, Courtney applies the make-up to transform this he into a she. By the end of the episode (and a pretty amazing finished product) Celia Pacquola arrives to see her friend in her full regalia. Biggest strength of this is Courtney’s ability to interview.
Worth a commission?: Yes. With a bigger budget that might lend to a drag performance at the end too.

Title: Dinner Guest.
The Pitch: Join Narelda Jacobs, Melissa Leong, Susan Carland and their guests in a no-holds-barred discussion about the biggest topics of today. Presented around a dinner table, this unconventional panel interview show highlights the value of sharing lived experiences and applying compassion in the face of diverse perspectives and voices.
Review: Guest in this episode is ABC’s Patricia Karvelas, hence why we’re at a Greek restaurant. These are 4 strong women all from 4 different cultural backgrounds, spanning ethnicity, religion and sexuality. The conversation is free-flowing, mostly interviewing Karvelas, but all four will speak to growing up and finding their place in family and media. Narelda Jacobs and Patricia Karvelas both share thoughts on coming out gay, while Susan Carland find similiarities in her choice to convert to Islam at 19. The exhanges are interesting, though there’s not much focus on the food and the commercial breaks feel instrusive.
Worth a commission?: No. As interesting as these 4 were, this is a podcast at present, not television.

Title: Time To Die.
The Pitch: Hosted by comedians Gen Fricker and Ben Russell, Time To Die is a devious and down-right evil challenge that dares two comedians to write the worst possible stand-up set for each other to perform in front of an unwitting live audience –will they really follow through with the dare? Just how awful will the jokes be? And how on earth will the audience react?
Review: The boldest premise of all 6 pilots, this is anti-comedy -but I’m still trying to work out the point of performing a stand-up routine of crap jokes. For some reason this begins with a panel (Gen Fricker and Ben Russell) discussing the concept with their volunteers -Tom Cashman, Sonia Di Iorio- before they write the monologue with guests Tommy Little & Mel Buttle. There’s an annoying laugh track and a distracting set, until we finally arrive at the two comedy clubs where they deliberately bomb with bad jokes in routines no longer than 4:30 mins. So the end result of an ambitious idea left me frustrated by its balance without a lot of laughs nor understanding to its purpose. I feel like the Taboo pilot from 2019, in which Harley Breen created monologues meeting people sharing insights into death, racism, mental health and physical disability was more enjoyable as doco meets comedy than this light entertainment hybrid.
Worth a commission?: No. If I’m going to watch bad jokes there needs to be a better purpose.

Title: The Bush Blonde Vs The World.
The Pitch: A sketch comedy show featuring Nikki Osborne in her original viral character “Bush Barbie”. With ludicrous moments of sheer insanity from the rich comedic traditions of Russell Coight and Borat, this program promises to be a wild, over-the-top send up of Australian culture at its funniest.
Review: Wait did I just change channels to 7mate? Nikki Osborne is very out there, very candid, very ‘Straa’yan mate with this character whose mission is to ‘Unbugger’ everything from Politics to Koalas. She’s running for PM with a slogan “Yeah, Nah, F*** It!” meeting locals to test drive her platform. There’s gags about Irwins, Porn Stars, Bogans and a cameo from Stefan Dennis. Osborne doesn’t hold back with the language, and I reckon she could find a following.
Worth a commission?: Yes. It’s not a comedy for me but this could work, possibly as a 10 BOLD comedy.

Title: The Love Experiment.
The Pitch: Can 36 questions make you fall in love with a total stranger? The Love Experiment is a simple dating experiment that puts this big idea to the test by matching pairs of strangers to share the most intimate conversations of their lives, all hoping that their vulnerable revelations will be able to transform a mere connection into true love.
Review: Think You Can’t Ask That meets First Dates. There are 2×2 singles who meet face to face for the first time, one of which is same-sex attracted. They read a range of questions about love, life and dreams and the connections begin. At the end there is a unique 3 Minute Stare simply looking into each other’s eyes. It’s confronting, but can potentially seal the deal. The insights into lifestyle and biography are the best asset here.
Worth a commission?: No. Could be better as a speed dating substitute in your local pub.

Title: Abbie Chats.
The Pitch: Abbie Chatfield is on a mission to explore, understand and reveal worlds not commonly seen or heard from on television. Abbie dives into two opposite ends of a subject, bringing her signature unapologetic brand of curiosity, passion and authenticity along, and asking all the questions the audience would never dare to.
Review: Ex-Bachelor star turns host in a factual series meeting both Porn Stars and Asexuals -the latter being the more interesting candidates of this episode. What makes someone opposed to the idea of sex, and does that include romance, intimacy, masturbation (there I said it)? Chatfield also goes on set for a porn shoot with three straight women making lesbian sex for subscription (some of those scenes might not pass the ACMA test if it was broadcast). Our host is surprisingly relaxed and personable given her first pilot, with the experience of producers CJZ very evident in production.
Worth a commission?: Yes, although the running time was pushing it at 33 mins. Trim to 22 mins.

You can check out all 6 Pilots at 10 Play, feel free to leave your own reviews below.